Hollywood critics are still scratching their heads in response to the incredible success of the new film “October Baby.” For a movie that New York Times film critic Jeannette Catsoulis said was “ugliness at its core,” it did beautifully well at the box office.

“October Baby” grossed $1.7 million its opening weekend. And despite appearing in fewer than 400 theaters, it finished as the No. 8 movie, the No. 1 limited release film, and had the third-highest per-screen average.

How did this film do so well at the box office, with so little fanfare, you ask? Let me give you four reasons:

1. It is beautifully done. Quality and content come together with professional actors, a meaningful storyline, and realistic character development. And the soundtrack? Just be prepared to have your phone ready; Shazam will be your best friend for the next hour and a half.

2. You can take anyone and everyone with you. Think about the last time you sat together with friends or family and didn’t feel the need to apologize, fast forward, or nervously laugh off an awkward scene.

I’m sure other families have the same problem; we’re starved for entertainment that we can enjoy together. Heaven knows I didn’t want to see “The Lorax” (again!). But the chance to sit together without dreading the gratuitous sex scene or curse word is rare.

“October Baby” refreshingly brought my family together and kept us together the whole time. The only exception might be a child not old enough to handle the heavy subject matter that includes abortion and adoption.

3. It’s the perfect date movie. Gentleman, don’t harbor any illusions, “Project X” is not the perfect date movie. Heed my advice and take her to see “October Baby.”

As one of my Concerned Men for America courageously suggested, “Go see ‘October Baby.’ If you’re married, take your wife. If you’re dating, take your girlfriend. Laugh when it’s time to laugh, and when it’s time to cry, don’t fight it. And if you have to, just remember that it’s allergy season. You can blame your red, puffy eyes on that.”

3. It provides thoughtful common-ground discussion on a hot-topic issue. “October Baby” accurately and compassionately portrays both sides of why the country is divided on social issues. “October Baby” portrays both sides as — gasp! — human.

And it gives the viewer the chance to think on their own two feet.

Imagine that! A film that provokes us to think for ourselves. This is something that the political debates tend to not do. Instead of polarizing the viewers, a pro-abortion viewer will see someone who is pro-life thinking through their logic, and a pro-lifer gets the chance to see the same on the other side.

I truly believe compassionate seeds will be planted here to see life as what it is: precious. The producers of “October Baby” have even assigned 10 percent of the profits of the movie to the Every Life is Beautiful Fund, which will distribute funds to frontline organizations helping women facing crisis pregnancies, life-affirming adoption agencies, and those caring for orphans.

Now, I ask you, what other movie in theaters right now is actually going to help people?

4. It is a “game changer.” You vote with your pocketbook, folks. Let’s not complain as moms and women that “there’s nothing good on TV.” If this movie does really well at the box office, you can be sure Hollywood will notice.

Hollywood needs to be reminded that there is a large market for wholesome films that help people. Conservative families will purchase, if Hollywood produces.

American families are craving alternatives to Hollywood’s films. October Baby is an unconventional portrayal of reality, forgiveness, love, and life. In fact, I think it should be called “Hallelujah, Baby.”

He has different views than most of the national Muslim advocacy groups featured in the media, and for that, Islamist groups have worked to keep Zuhdi Jasser from gaining traction in the national debate over religion and extremism.

“If I’m such a Muslim hater, they can’t find one quote from Zuhdi Jasser?” he asked. “It’s like something out of Pravda or the Syrian media.”

He has been smeared as an Uncle Tom, a clown and even a “sock puppet” for anti-Muslim forces. So when it was announced Monday that Jasser had been appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Islamists frothed with hyperbolic excess.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called the appointment “farcical” and urged supporters to sign a petition protesting the move. An “action alert” mailed to its listserv also steered supporters to the petition, “calling on community members and people of conscience to sign a petition for” Jasser’s ouster.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council directed its Twitter followers to the petition, too, copying its claim that “Zuhdi Jasser Does Not Belong on the USCIRF.” In a separate action alert, MPAC urged supporters to protest to their elected officials, calling the appointment “an affront to all Muslims.”

Jasser is a Muslim. It’s doubtful the move is an affront to him.

A group called the Muslim Peace Coalition issued a statement similarly calling supporters to protest the appointment, calling it “a huge insult to the American Muslims and it will have consequences in terms of demonizing Muslims abroad … This is a guy who has made a living advocating to curb religious liberties for Muslims RIGHT HERE in the US. The contradiction and hypocrisy of this action could not be more underscored.”

Jasser joining the USCIRF board is “like appointing David Duke as chair of NAACP,” wrote Fida Mohammed on the petition page.

The federally-funded commission is tasked with monitoring and advocating “for religious freedom abroad wherever that right is being abused.”

Jasser, an Arizona physician and Navy veteran, founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, advocating the separation of mosque and state and taking on Islamist groups he sees as working to slowly inculcate religious practice and dogma into public policy. The United States offers Muslims the greatest freedom to practice their faith because it maintains the separation.

Stu Varney: Dr. Zuhdi Jasser discusses the Obama administration’s bypassing of Congress to continue support of Egypt even as it transitions to Muslim Brotherhood government. Dr. Jasser discusses options and who we should fund.

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Jasser has repeatedly taken on CAIR and its positions. In response, CAIR has tried to diminish his views, arguing he runs a small operation with a modest following. That was the line CAIR Governmental Affairs Director Corey Saylor took last March in criticizing Jasser’s appearance before a House committee hearing on radicalization within the Muslim-American community.

~ Snippet:

Later in the summer, Jasser appeared to be sailing toward confirmation for a White House appointment to the State Department’s Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. He cleared all the background checks and the vetting process, but the appointment was rescinded at the 11th hour without explanation.

~ Could it be CAIR’s association with this administration that influenced this? Lord knows they are influenced by many extremist groups.~ JP

Despite the “scorched earth attack” against him, Jasser said he is eager to start work with the USCIRF advocating for religious freedom for all faiths, including Muslims living under dictatorship and other repressive conditions.

The campaign against him is meaningless. There is no mechanism to undo the appointment, so it appears to be all about tainting his image. “I’m not surprised,” Jasser said. “They lie and deceive about my work on a daily basis.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that New York police used “terrible judgment” in showing counterterrorism trainees a documentary-style film that says Muslim extremists are masquerading as moderates to destroy America from within.

Bloomberg said police have stopped showing officers “The Third Jihad,” a 72-minute movie that has been branded inflammatory by some Muslim organizations and was produced by a conservative group called the Clarion Fund.

March 28, 2012: This aerial shot provided by Greenpeace shows Total’s Elgin Wellhead Platform in the North Sea off the shore of Scotland.

Total SA said Friday it is moving two rigs into place to start drilling relief wells at the site of a serious gas leak in the North Sea off the shore of Scotland, even though it currently has “no means” of monitoring the well pressure in the area, Dow Jones reported.

The move highlights the serious risks that still remain nearly a week after the leak first began.

It was only because Total was able to track the pressure levels in the G4 well, where the leak took place, that the company was able to preempt the leak and safely evacuate its staff on Sunday, narrowly avoiding a major tragedy. But now Total will be operating without this early warning system.

Total has “no means at all to monitor pressure there, the platform is unmanned,” Michel Hourcard, senior Vice President of Development for Total’s Exploration and Production division, said.

Total still doesn’t know the cause of the gas leak, but suspects tiny pores and leaks could have formed in the well’s casing due to changes in pressure and temperature, or as a result of shifts in the rocky formation the well passes through. This means that other wells could also be affected.

“Every well that goes through that layer [the zone above the reservoir thought to be the source of the leak] could be affected, but with different degrees of permeability,” David Hainsworth, a health safety and environment manager at Total, said Thursday.

Despite the progress in mobilizing the drilling vessels, safety issues remain a serious concern and could slow efforts to stop the leak.

Hourcard said he could not put a final date on when Total might start drilling operations as a full risk assessment needs to be conducted first.

Moreover, a gas flare on the platform is still burning, threatening to ignite the gas cloud that is leaking from the facility. Until the flare is extinguished and gas stops escaping onto the platform, no personnel can board it.

Vietnam-era veterans will be honored March 31 with an observance at Battleship Memorial Park sponsored by area veteran’s agencies and other community partners from the Gulf Coast region.

The event is being organized to provide Vietnam-era veterans across the Gulf Coast the opportunity to connect with one another.

An honor ride, led by Rolling Thunder Alabama Chapter 1 and motorcyclists, will kick off the event at 10 a.m. in downtown Mobile. The opening ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. at the park at 2703 Battleship Parkway.

Jerron Barnett, a spokesman with the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, said they are expecting “thousands” of vets to participate in the upcoming celebration.

“What we really want is for people to line Government Street to see the vets come through,” said Barnett.

The best viewing areas will be along Government Street between Virginia Street and the Bankhead Tunnel.

Barnett said the event is about connecting Vietnam veterans with each other and to let them know what services the Veteran Affairs offers for those who served in the Vietnam War.

Other activities include reunions, resource/family tents, vendors, live music and presentations.

Admission is free and open to the public. The USS Alabama Park is providing all Vietnam-era veterans with free museum tickets.

During the afternoon there will be a special Missing Man Ceremony Honoring POWs & MIA’s, and a presentation on the Vet to Vet Peer Support Program.

Barnett, a veteran of Operation Afghanistan Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, said there’s still a lot of healing that needs to be done for the Vietnam vets “and we want to be the catalyst for that.”

He said veterans really want to be a part of this celebration and the public wants to show them how much “we appreciate their contributions.”- source

We pray that The Wall Song will honor our surviving and fallen heroes of the Vietnam War as well as any who have served in the Armed Forces.

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – NOVEMBER 3: South Florida radio host Joe Martelle wipes tears away at The Vietnam Wall Experience, a traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial, at the Palm Beach Memorial Park November 3, 2002 in Boynton Beach, Florida. Martelle is an ex-Marine. Martelle was copying the name of his best friend from high school that died in the Vietnam War. Though Martelle served in the U.S. Marines during that time he did not go to Vietnam. (Photo by Tom Ervin/Getty Images)

CONCORD, N.C. — The USO of North Carolina and Charlotte Motor Speedway, with support from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, will honor the service of Vietnam Veterans with a homecoming celebration today at the speedway.

The event will pay tribute to the more than 216,000 North Carolina residents who served in Vietnam, and 1,600 who died in battle.

NewsChannel 36 will be covering the event live from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today.

The homecoming celebration will feature live entertainment, displays and demonstrations, military salutes and much more.

WHEN: Saturday, March 31, 2012

WHERE: Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, North Carolina

HOURS: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Entertainment includes The Charlie Daniels Band, George Clinton and much more! For a full list of entertainment and activities click here.

Veteran Service Organizations will be on-site to assist veterans. Please bring your DD Form 214 so they can help, if needed.

More than 216,000 North Carolina residents served in Vietnam, and some 1,600 made the ultimate sacrifice in that war.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is getting an “indefinite delivery” of an “indefinite quantity” of .40 caliber ammunition from defense contractor ATK.

U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over five years, according to a press release on the deal.

This refers to the the bullet’s hollow-point tip that passes through barriers and expands for a bigger impact without the rest of the bullet getting warped out of shape: “this bullet holds its jacket in the toughest conditions.”

We’ve also learned that the Department has an open bid for a stockpile of rifle ammo. Listed on the federal business opportunities network, they’re looking for up to 175 million rounds of .223 caliber ammo to be exact. The .223 is almost exactly the same round used by NATO forces, the 5.56 x 45mm.

The deadline for earlier this month was extended because the right contractor just hadn’t come along.

~ My question is what IS their business?! I ask our Vets or anyone that is familiar with these bullets, WHAT/WHERE will they be used? Why I.C.E? They will say it’s for Drug Cartels at the border. This is feasible being they are outgunned but we also have Gun Walking. This all JUST seems snarky to me. ~ JP

In visit to ship off California coast, Defense Secretary Panetta blasts automatic defense cuts resulting from Congress’ failure to find $1.2T in savings and says Congress ‘put gun to heads of the country.’

In a visit to this amphibious assault ship off the Southern California coast, he also said Afghanistan is making progress against the Taliban but Iran remains a potential threat to the U.S.

A budget agreement reached last August calls for defense cuts of $487 billion over a decade, a reflection of the drawdown of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the pressure to reduce the nation’s deficit.

The failure of Congress’ so-called “supercommittee” to come up with at least $1.2 trillion in savings means automatic cuts of more than $1 trillion next January to defense and domestic programs.

Congress “did a stupid thing” in risking the $50 billion in reductions that would kick in next January, Panetta told hundreds of Marines and sailors.

“What they essentially did is put a gun to their heads and the heads of the country,” he said.

Afghanistan’s neighbor, Iran, continues to be a threat to U.S. interests, however.

“If Israel decides to go after Iran and we have to defend ourselves, we could be engaged sooner than any of us wants,” he said.

It was not clear whether Panetta was saying the United States would automatically be engaged if Israel would attack. It also is not clear if the Obama administration has plans to be engaged with Iran.

“Our focus is on diplomacy and international pressure on Iran. I’m not going to speculate on what would happen in various scenarios other than to say that we will be ready,” Carl Woog, Panetta’s spokesman, said later.

“The secretary said we have plans for any contingency and we’re not going to speculate about timelines or future actions,” he added.

Panetta also addressed North Korea’s threat to fire a missile.

“They’ve done this before. We thought we were in a period of accommodation. Now it looks like we’re in a period of provocation,” Panetta said.